Sunday, April 27, 2008

Since I fixed the exhaust downpipe, a working fan hasn't been as high a priority, but it's been something I've been wanting to fix since I got the car.

I thought faulty wiring would be the culprit, but it turned out that it was simply forty-some years of accumulated dust, pine needles, and automotive goo.

there's a fan motor somewhere underneath all that dirt

I got the motor partially apart before realizing that complete disassembly would only be possible after removing the brittle plastic impeller. It's a friction fit, so I wet the shaft down with WD-40, twisted back and forth slowly and carefully, and used the mantra "please don't break, please don't break."

Once apart, I gave the motor and impeller a thorough cleaning, polished the commutator and contacts, and relubed the bushings.

back to life, running on a bench power supply

Back on the car, the ground wire was making an intermittent connection due to dirt and corrosion. The fan ground is connected to the nearby brake line union (where the brake light pressure switch is located).

bolt at upper left of brake union serves as chassis ground for fan

After a good cleaning all around, and some preventative Ilsco De-Ox on the contacts, the fan is back in business.

About

The stalwart 122S "Amazon," produced between 1956 and 1970, went a long way in establishing Volvo's reputation for safety and reliability. I was looking for an 1800 when I saw the classified ad for my Amazon, but decided to take a chance, and have since fallen in love with designer Jan Wilsgaard's Nordic-Modern take on classic Detroit, not to mention the car's bulletproof reliability and often mind-boggling simplicity. I bought my 120 from its original owner, who lovingly drove it for 580,000 miles before handing the keys over to me. Any car that can survive half a century and half a million miles of abuse is all right in my book, and worthy of some TLC -- or at least a low budget restoration.